Chester post office to be named after 1st Lt. Lou Allen

Chester — The post office in Chester will get a name change to honor a local soldier killed in Iraq. The family of 1st Lt. Lou Allen gathered at his parents’ house on Price Road Monday to hear their Congressman, John Hall, announce that he will be introducing legislation to rename the post office “The 1st Lt. Louis Allen Post Office.” Allen was killed in Iraq in 2005, when he was 34 years old. Hall said the entire New York State Congressional Delegation has signed on as original co-sponsors of the bill. “Renaming this post office is not about mourning Lou’s death, but about celebrating his life,” Hall said. “Lt. Allen was a pillar of this community and blessed the lives he touched.” Lt. Allen was a Chester native and a science teacher at George F. Baker High School in Tuxedo. He joined the National Guard in 2000. He was deployed to Iraq just a few weeks before his death. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; four sons, Trevor, Colin, Sean, and Jeremy; parents, Bob and Vivian; and brothers and sisters. The 1st Lt. Louis Allen Scholarship and Community Foundation has also been established in Allen’s memory. In 2008, the fund contributed $10,100 to the Chester, Goshen, Greenwood Lake, and Monroe food pantries; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Orange County; the Emergency Housing Foundation; and Orange County Safe Homes. The foundation endowed a scholarship to Chester High School and made a contribution to the all-night alcohol-free graduation party. To contribute to the fund, make checks payable to the 1st Lt. Louis Allen Foundation and send them to 12 Price Road Chester, NY 10918. For more information about the fund, contact his sisters Vicky Jackson at RichVick@Frontiernet.net or 427-9028; or Laurene Sandstrom at Laursandstrom@yahoo.com or 742-1393.